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Wiggle with fixed intermediate values
Hello!
I need some help in my current project. I’m making a cg semi-realistic eye that has to look from side to side randomly. So I try to use “wiggle” for this purpose. But the actual eye works you know quickly changing its point of view and fixing in the direction for a moment. In the project the eye is actually a sphere where rotation is linked to null object position and an iris animation is done by reshape effect with Percent linked to null’s [x] scale value.
I’m not that good with expressions… So is there a way to write a script that would perform random life like behavior of the eye? Like “look right, stop, look other direction, stop; iris enlarges and stays this way for a longer time or changes its size depending on the direction like looking up – squeezes on bright light, looking down – enlarges”?
Thanks 🙂
Sphere rotation [x]:thisComp.layer("Null 1").transform.position[1]*-1
Null object expression for position:
wiggle(5, 20)
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4 Replies
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Here’s one possibility. With this position expression Null 1 moves randomly to a new position at random intervals.
seedRandom(index, true);
x_motion = 100; // maximum motion on x axis
y_motion = 50; // maximum motion on y axis
x_pos = value[0] + random(x_motion) - x_motion/2;
y_pos = value[1] + random(x_motion) - x_motion/2;
min_hold = 5; // minimum number of frames to hold eye in one place
max_hold = 25; // maximum number of frames to hold eye in one place
t = timeToFrames(inPoint);
while (tRather than trying to fit an ease expression there, I bailed out to using a second null with this expression to slow the motion from one place to another:
smooth_frames = 2; // how many frames in each direction the motion is smoothed
smooth_pos = [0,0];
fps = 1/thisComp.frameDuration;
for (i = -smooth_frames; i <= smooth_frames; i++){
smooth_pos += thisComp.layer("Null 1").transform.position.valueAtTime(time+i/fps)}
smooth_pos = smooth_pos/(smooth_frames*2+1)Now you can get your eyeball motions from Null 2's position.
Not exactly pretty in terms of code, but it will do the trick.
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Thank you very much!!!
As soon as I will finish my project I will share results!
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Hi and thank you once again! You help had a great value to me.
I’ve promised to share the results and here they are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VHpPUx-x3Y
I think I should make some remarks, technical and artistic.
Technical: what you see is a concept of statue which is currently assembled in Kiev art center. The eye is actually a led screen one square meter. Random animation supposed to be at least one minute long and should separate four different “emotions”: crazy, tears, love and logos O_o , but the customer (girl who generated the idea of a statue) said that “one minute is so too long, make it quicker”.
Artistic: “…”
I wonder what you would say about the statue?
P.S.: If you ask me I’d say I did a strange video for a strange installation (or I should rather say a big plastic piece of sh@t :-)) )
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It’s certainly eye catching…
Kalleheikki Kannisto
Senior Graphic Designer
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